Position Title
D.E. in African American Studies
I am a Texan-born Californian and doctoral student in Cultural Studies whose work lives at the intersections of African American & African Studies, cultural geographies, religious studies, Black diasporic migration, the Black radical tradition, Black feminist thought, and cultural analysis. My scholarship is grounded in a deep curiosity about how Black people imagine, make, and inhabit spaces of freedom, belonging, and possibility.
I am currently researching the ways Black sacred practices, like conjure, have shaped the imagination and construction of the Promised Land over time, and how those practices may function as portals to spaces of refuge, opportunity, and otherwise futures. More broadly, my work explores how spirituality, movement, memory, and place become tools of world-making in Black life.
My specialty within the DE is African American Studies, and I have the honor of working alongside Bettina Ng'weno as both my DE Faculty Advisor and Major Advisor. My teaching interests include African American Studies, Black feminist theory, Black geographies, Black spiritual and religious traditions, Black migrations, popular culture and media studies, African diaspora studies, and gender and sexuality studies.
When I am not dreaming in diaspora, I can usually be found ripping and running with my husband and four sons, browsing a local bookstore with my homegirls, or enjoying the beach.